Midway through her pregnancy, Hope’s baby was diagnosed as growth restricted (IUGR), but despite concern from her doctors, Hope’s intuition was telling her the baby was okay.

Her baby was also breech at that point, and never did turn. She was recommended to have a planned cesarean at 37 weeks due to both the IUGR diagnosis and the breech positioning, but this never sat right with her. She kept asking questions to her care team that she felt were not adequately answered.

Amazingly, the hospital scheduled her for this cesarean at 37 weeks, after a planned ECV, without her knowledge or consent. A nurse accidentally tipped her off!

Around the same time, Hope found stories of other women who vaginally birthed breech babies. Now that she knew it was possible, the question was how to find the right support for her to do it at home. She was able to find a midwife trained with Breech without Borders.

Her baby was born perfectly healthy at 42 weeks after a ten hour labor. By listening to her instincts and birthing at home, she avoided what would have almost certainly been a NICU stay necessitated by having a cesarean at 37 weeks.

Her story is an amazing testament to how important and valid maternal intuition truly is.

Follow Hope @hope_jckson

If you love the show, I would greatly appreciate a review on  Spotify or Apple Podcasts! 

Follow me on Instagram @healingbirth

Do you have a birth story you’d like to share on the podcast, or would like to otherwise connect? I love to hear from you! Send me a note at contactus@healingbirth.net

Check out the website for lots of other birth related offerings, and personalized support: www.healingbirth.net

Intro / outro music: Dreams by Markvard